Method of lasting boots and shoes



May l2, 1925.

LA CHAPELLE METHOD OF LASTING BOOTS AND SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jam 17, 1924 E. l. LA CHAPELLE METHOD OF LASTING BOOTS AND SHOES May 12, 1925.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fil ed Jan. 17, 1924 IA I'IIIIIIII/ Ill/I, 'II 'IIIIIIIIIIIIIfl I Patented May 12, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METHOD OF LASTING BOOTS AND SHOES.

Application filed January 17, 1924. Serial No. 686,789.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUCLID I. LA CHA- rELLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Lasting Boots and Shoes, and have provided an apparatus therefor, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel method of lasting boots and shoes of such types as of the welt and McKay and more particularly to the assembling and pulling over operations. Y

My present invention has for one objective the lasting of boots and shoes with the incorporation of moulded box-toes in a boneticial manner by relative assembling of the upper and moulded box-toe for bringing about a better, more facile and more rapid pulling over operation, in turn conducive to better, easier and more rapid results at the subsequent operations of the toe and heel lasting than heretofore possible, and practically eliminating the side lasting operation of welt shoes, with the highest degree of rapidity and ease yet known consistent. with best possible results in pulling over and lasting.

In view of performing the pulling over operation more rapidly than in ordinary pulling over and of eliminating the toe and heel and side lasting operations, it has been proposed. to mould toes and heels of welt and McK ay shoe uppers (with box-toes and counters included) preparatory to pulling over, and, although it is admitted that such moulding of uppers is conducive to the most rapid pulling over ope 'ation, certain serious objections are encounter-ml. For instance, the strain incident to the toe moulding operation oftentimes causes serious damage to the toe part of the upper, and, moreover, moulded toes (and moulded heels to a lesser degree) do not conform so correctly to the peri hery of the last, and, 111 the case of mou ded toes of welt shoe uppers, to the shoulder of the inner-sole as do toes and heels of unmoulded uppers which are shaped directly on the lasts in the ordinary process of lasting andcspecially of wiping at a bed lasting machine, and, so far as I am aware,

no such moulded uppers intended for welt or Mcluiy shoes, have as yet been used 111 the general run of a shoefactory.

()n the other hand, when flat box-toes are used, regardless of the particular process of pulling over adopted, the toe lasting operation is then a laborious one, and notably so in the case of wiping at a bed lasting machine, as then the conditions necessitate many manipulations of the lasting pineers and of the wipers in working the toe part of the upper and flat box-toe firmly and smoothly to the last, and, in the case of welt shoes to the shoulder of the innersole on the last, with liability of scratching or of otherwise damagiug the toe part of the upper by excessive operation or of bowing in the tipseam by repeated wiping movements. But, were the box-toe moulded, the assembling ot the same to the upper underneath the lining then would not only involve intricate and slow procedure but would pizeclude also engagenlcnt by the pulling over pincers of both, the upper and box-toe, so that the most vital and severe step of pulling over in stretching the upper lengthwise of the last from heel to toe, then would have to be performed by engaging only the toe-end ot' the. upper imlepemlently ot' the moulded boxtoe and it is obvious that the amount of strain required for properly stretching the upper lengthwise would be thereby disadvantageously limited as the tip of the upper alone could not withstand the amount of: strain required.

Moreover, in the practice of the well known process of back-lasting: Partly assembling the heel part of the vamp ot' the upper to the heel end of the last and then pulling over the. toe part as in ordinary pulling over but with much less force and finally stretching the upper lengthwise of the last by and under the influence ot' the strain in forcing the heel part ot' the vamp of the upper in full assembled condition on the. last, the most vital step of pulling over in stretching the upper lengthwise ot' the lastv from toe to heel is not then of sutlicicnt. force for best results.

In the ordinary process of pulling over. the upper'is first engaged and pulled over at the toe-end and is thereby stretched lengthwise ol' the last from heel to too but is thereby also disadvantageously raised from the top of the forepart of the last, back of the toe, and this condition involves the overstraining of the upper at the sides of the forepart, notably when pulling over by machine, with liability of seriously damaging the tip, vamp or lining of the upper, and, moreover, such excessive strain upon the forepart is not consistent with' the amount of strain required in lasting the remainder of the sides of the upper so that once the shoe is off the last an overstrained appearance of the vamp is evident in the immediate vicinity of the tip-seam.

My invention has for further object the elimination of the objections noted, and, as shown in the drawings,

Fig. 1, is a side elevation of an ordinary hinge-last, having a welt shoe innersole fastened thereto in the usual manner, and having a moulded box-toe assembled and fastened thereto in assembled condition.

Fig. 2, is a side elevation of the hinge-last, showing, in section, a welt shoe innersole fastened thereto, a moulded box-toe assembled and fastened thereto in assembled condition and the toe part of the upper assembled to the moulded box-toe and pulled over.

Fig. 3, illustrates a plan view ,of the bottom toe portion of the shoe, more clearly showing the lasting tacks holding the upper in pulled over condition.

Fig. 4, is a View similar. to the view shown in Fig. 2, with the addition of the illustration of a shoe horn inserted within the heel part of the upper in readiness for stretching the upper lengthwise of the last.

Fig. 5, shows the upper after having been stretched lengthwise of the last and its heel part assembled to the last by the shoe horn.

Fig. 6, illustrates an apparatus adapted to support the last and actuate the shoe horn.

Referring further to the drawings,

1, represents a hinge-last, which I apply to the apparatus shown in Fig. 6; 2. represents a welt shoe innersole, .which I then assemble and fasten to the last; and 3, represents a moulded box-toe. which I then assemble to the last; and 3", represents a tack holding the moulded box-toe in assembled condition on the last, aml I then, preferably, apply cementitious material to the top surface of the moulded box-toe, and I apply an upper to the last, of preferably one half size lower than the size of the last, and I assemble the toe-part of, the upper to the moulded box-toe with the tip-seam in line with the rear edge of the moulded boxtoe so that the tip-seam will set straight on the last without further attention from the workman and so that all tips in a given number of shoes will be of uniform length, and I then easily and quickly pull over the toe part of the upper by first engaging and pulling with ordinary lasting pincers the vamp next to the tip-seam at each side and then the corners of the tip, and, after having pulled out the tack holding the box-toe in assembled condition to the last, I pull over the toe-end of the upper and the toe part of the upper being held in pulled over condition by the tacks 5, (best shown in Figs. 2 and 3) I then insert a moulded counter between the lining and the upper proper and, while holding the counter in proper assembled condition to the upper by pressing the lining, counter and upper together, I insert the shoe horn 6, within the heel part of the upper, as shown in Fig. 4. In the actuation of the shoe horn, the first movement consists in the rocking of the same on the last at the point indicated at 7, Fig. 4, and said rocking movement causes the shoe horn to'assume the position at 8, and thus the upper and the seam uniting the tops and vamp are stretched last-Ward on the top of the forepart of the last and lengthwise of the last, bringing about the necessity of but one pull and one tack at each side, at or near the ball, in lasting the sides of a welt shoe and, as the welt-guide of the welt sewing machine is adapted to draw the upper last-ward at each stitch, it is believed that cheap, and even medium grade welt shoes would require no side lasting at all. The shoe horn finally moves the heel part of the upper in assembled condition on the last and then the ends of the counter, the upper and lining are pulled in together and tacked down to the innersole, as in the ordinary practice of pulling over by hand, preparatory to the heel lasting operation.

The shoe horn, herein shown, is old in the art, being in general use for mounting turn shoes on lasts, and the apparatus, herein shown, is an old combination of elements and nothingis herein claimed in relation thereto. Furthermore, the well known knees (so called) may be used for supporting the last, in place of the apparatus herein shown, during the time of pulling over and fastening the upper to the. sole on the last to hold the same in pulled over on dition.

It is to be appreciated that a moulded box-toe. could be used without. having a flange portion extending over the edge of the innersole, or that a moulded box-toe having only a tongue at each corner to permit of fastening the box-toe to the innersole on the last could be substituted for the moulded box-toe herein shown. But the flange portion of the moulded box-toe extending around and over the edge of the innersole on the last, as herein shown, is skived quite thin so as to readily conform to the shoulder of a welt shoe innersole under the force of the wipers of a bed lasting machine and a such a flange is preferably 1 llt) retained but, in any event, the choice of any particular type of box-toe is optional with shoe manufacturers.

It is to be noted that the toe lasting operation is made much easier than heretofore by my method, notably in the case of a welt shoe,since only the upper is wiped in and,

when the sides are lasted, there is no need of the step by step lasting operation, at each side now required for the subsequent heel wiping operation and the heel lasting operation itself is made easier than heretofore because of the lengthwise strain applied to the upper in the completion of the pulling over operation, in accordance with my method, setting the heel part of the upper firmly to thelast. Y

I The moulding of the toe part of an upper,

with a boxtoe included, offers more objections than does the moulding of the heel part of an upper, with a counter included, and I want it well understood that an upper having a moulded heel part, with a counter included, may be used in the'practice of my. method although such practice is not deemed the best to adopt since the toe part is to be lasted, in accordance with aprime purpose of my method, by the ordinary-process of lasting, and preferably by wiping for best results, and then the heel part maybe advantageously lasted also'by the same machine.

In the practice of my method, cementitious material'is preferably applied to the top surface of the moulded box-toe to permanently unite togetherthe liningand the moulded box-toe, and thus preclude the possibility of the rear edge curling'downwardly during the time of wear.

With the ordinary type of hinge-last, as

herein shown, such a method as disclosed in Patent No. 790,129, dated May 16, 1905, for lasting boots or shoes, may be advantageouslivpracticed in" conjunction with my herein isclosed method invention. haveshown that, in case additional lengthwise strain upon the upper were desired, the hinge-last could be expanded, after the practice of my method, to thereby stretch the upper lengthwise of the last in accordance with theistep for stretching the upper lengthwise of the last disclosed 'in the aforesaid atent; my herein disclosed method then eing practiced with the hinge-last in Experiments of tips may be gaged, the insoles may be uniformly marked to predetermine the exact points at which the corners of the tips should be fastened and such marking of insoles is old in the art.

a My novel method invention is to be construed as limited only as positively stated in the claims and required by the prior art.

Having thus explained the nature of my novel method invention and described the same in the best form of practice now known 'to me, and having described an apparatus therefor, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That method of lasting boots and shoes, which consists in applying to a last a moulded box-toe and an upper having its toe part unmoulded and a tip portion, in pulling-over on the said last the said upper, preliminary to placing the heel partlof the said upper over the heel end of the said last, for the purposes described, in stretching the said pulled-overupper lengthwise of the said last from toe to heel and in thereafter placing the heel part-of the said I pulled-over upper over the heel end of the Said last. 7

2. .That method of" lasting 1 boots and shoes, which consists in pulling over on a last an upper having its toe part unmoulded, preliminary to placing the heel art of the'said u per over the heel end of t e said last, for tie purposes described, in stretching the said pulled over upper lengthwise of the said last and in thereafter placing the heel part of the said pulled over upper over the heel end of the said last.

In testimony whereof-I have signed my name to this specification.

EUCLID I. LA CHAPELLE. 

